The ethical principles of autonomy and beneficence often seem to be in direct co

Question

The ethical principles of autonomy and beneficence often seem to be in direct conflict when addressing ethical dilemmas. Consider the following scenario and discuss the aspects of autonomy and the aspects of beneficence.

A young man with AIDS died in a Midwest hospital in 1993. His physician had placed a do not resuscitate (DNR) order on his chart. Prior to becoming incompetent, the patient had legally authorized a friend to be his durable power of attorney (DPoA) in the event that he was not able to make his own health care decisions. Twice during the last few weeks of the patient’s life, the DPoA had requested that the DNR order be removed. The request to remove the DNR order was based on the history of the patient who had fought courageously against his disease and had on previous occasions of acute exacerbations, rallied, returning to an almost normal life. The DNR order remained in effect and no attempt at resuscitation was made (Edge & Krueger, 1998).

Explanation / Answer

AUTONOMY: Autonomy in nursing refers to freedom to choose according to the patient. below is the autonomy features seen in the given scenario.

1. Patient chose a friend to be his durable power of attorney (DPoA) in case when he is not in condition to make a decision for himself is one of the example of autonomy.

2. DPoA requesting to remove the DNR order also comes under autonomy as the patient had given DPoA to choose in such cases.

3. His physician putting a do not resuscitate (DNR) order on his cart also comes under autonomy.

4. The DNR being remained in effect also comes under autonomy as it was requested by the patient.

BENEFICENCE: Beneficence refers to doing no harm only benefit to the patient. Below is the features of beneficence according to the given scenario:-

1. His DPoA had requested to remove the DNR order so that in case his heart stops beating there was a chance he could be revived through CPR.

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